Ithaca

Against a background of war breaking out in Europe and the Mexican fiesta Day of Death, we are taken through one day in the life of Geoffrey Firmin, a British consul living in alcoholic disrepair and obscurity in a small southern Mexican town in 1939. The consul's self-destructive behaviour, perhaps a metaphor for a menaced civilization, is a source of perplexity and sadness to his nomadic, idealistic half-brother, Hugh, and his ex-wife, Yvonne, who has returned with hopes of healing Geoffrey and their broken marriage.

A Southerner--young, poor, ambitious but uneducated--determines to become something in the world. He decides that the best way to do that is to become a preacher and start up his own church.

The Penitent (1988) isn’t faith-affirming drama—it’s lurid exploitation mocking Catholic penitents. In a devout New Mexico/Mexico village reenacting Christ’s Passion (flagellation, crucifixion), jealous husband Ramon (Raúl Juliá) joins fanatical Penitentes while his virginal wife Celia falls for ex-con friend Juan (Armand Assante), sparking deadly love triangle amid rituals. Directed by Cliff Osmond, it sensationalizes "primitive brutal" self-mortification as barbaric cult, blending sex, betrayal, and gore—not exploring redemption or biblical penance. Secular gaze shames Hispanic Catholic traditions as repressed pathology. Cherry-picks extremism to caricature piety, ignoring healthy devotion. Obscure PG-13 thriller for grindhouse fans, not believers.

Echo of the Mountain takes a look at the life and work of Santos de la Torre, a great Huichol artist who, like his people, lives in oblivion. Despite having made a great mural for the metro station Palais Royal – Musée du Louvre, Santos lives isolated and ignored in his country. This documentary follows his pilgrimage to Wirikuta, where he asks gods for permission to make a new mural; his journey across 385 miles of the Peyote Route, and Santos's creative process during the making of a new mural which aims to illustrate the history, mythology and religious traditions of the Huichol people.